US envoy in Arunachal
Richard Verma, US envoy in India visited Arunachal Pradesh, sparking Chinese reactions.Twitter/USAmbIndia

India on Monday asserted that there was "nothing unusual" about US envoy Richard Verma's visit to Arunachal Pradesh. Dismissing Chinese objections to his visit, India reiterated its official position that Arunachal "is an integral part of India."

China has claimed Arunachal (90,000 sq km) as its territory and calls it south Tibet and is part of the disputed territory between the two countries.

Lu Kang, spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said he was opposed to actions of the US envoy, which he claimed would "damage the hard-earned peace and tranquillity of the China-India border region," Reuters reported.

He also said that "Any responsible third party should respect efforts by China and India to seek peaceful and stable reconciliation, and not the opposite."

He said the US must stop getting itself involved in territorial disputes of China and India and should rather help in forwarding peace in the region. He also noted that the boundary issue between the two nuclear armed neighbours is very complex and sensitive.

The Chinese interference may not have gone well with External ministry officials and the Home ministry.

Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State in Home Ministry was quoted by ANI as saying that Verma had gone there to attend a festival and it was not a political visit.

Verma had visited Tawang in Arunachal on October 22 at the invitation of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and had posted some images on his Twitter account.

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